The Minnesota Wild has brought a fan favorite back to the organization and into the front office.

The Wild has named Andrew Brunette Hockey Operations Advisor.

In his new role with the Wild, Brunette will assist General Manager Chuck Fletcher in all aspects of the team’s hockey operations including scouting, free agent signings and helping with the evaluation and development of prospects at all levels of the organization.

It seems like another world now — like discussing Pompeii or prohibition — but there was a time when Nike was just another struggling shoe company. In 1983, Nike had revenues of less than $1 million.

In 1984, Nike signed Michael Jordan.

Today, Nike owns the basketball shoe market. Owns it. When you factor in all the Nike brands — Nike, Jordan, Converse — you are talking nearly 95 percent of the basketball shoe market. And the Jordan Brand remains the biggest seller by far.

All this because of a big gamble back in the 1980s where a company that needed a star bet on the guy who would go on to become the general consensus greatest player ever, and that player bet on the company’s marketing skills.

“As Michael told me in discussing his career, ‘Timing is everything.’” Lazenby said. “He came along at a time when Nike, a struggling company, was suddenly willing to gamble millions, far more than had ever been gambled, on an untested NBA player, giving him an unprecedented deal before he had even played an NBA game. Nike turned its full efforts to marketing Jordan. Then suddenly he emerged as this amazingly athletic figure, wearing a shoe that was banned by the NBA.”

People sometimes forget that part of the story. David Stern and the NBA banned the first pair of Air Jordan’s in 1985, just weeks before the start of the season, because they were completely Bulls red and black with no white on them.

There is no better marketing endorsement than having the man say, “you can’t have it.” That shoe and that moment spawned today’s sneakerhead culture.

I think it was around '85, when I was in 6th grade, and my parents got a me a cheap pair of Air Jordan knock-offs for like $20-$30. That's all we could afford...I think the actual Air Jordans were like $150.

But, every time someone mentions Air Jordans, I think of Reebok Pumps...

THE cover of the February 2nd edition of The Economist featured a Viking wearing a horned helmet, to accompany our special report on the merits of the Nordic model. Our cover designer knew when he chose the image that it might invite complaints on the grounds of historical accuracy: real Viking helmets did not have horns.